1951 in sports

1951 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

 * NFL Championship: the Los Angeles Rams won 24–17 over the Cleveland Browns at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
 * January 14 – The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles).
 * September 28 – Norm Van Brocklin sets NFL single game record for most passing yards (554) helping Los Angeles Rams beat New York Yanks 48–21.
 * Sugar Bowl (1950 season):
 * The Oklahoma Sooners lose 13–7 to the Kentucky Wildcats; still awarded the college football national championship by AP and Coaches Poll

Association football
England Spain Italy Germany Portugal France
 * First Division – Tottenham Hotspur win the 1950–51 title.
 * FA Cup – Newcastle United beat Blackpool 2–0.
 * La Liga won by Atlético Madrid
 * Serie A won by Milan.
 * German football championship won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
 * Primeira Liga won by Sporting C.P.
 * French Division 1 won by Nice.

Athletics
The athletics competition at the 1951 Pan American Games is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mal Whitfield of the USA wins gold medals in three events: 400 m, 800 m and 4 × 400 m relay.

Australian rules football
Victorian Football League South Australian National Football League Western Australian National Football League
 * 29 September − Geelong wins the 55th VFL Premiership defeating Essendon 11.15 (81) to 10.10 (70) in the 1951 VFL Grand Final.
 * Brownlow Medal is awarded to Bernie Smith (Geelong)
 * 29 September − Port Adelaide wins its fourteenth SANFL premiership, defeating North Adelaide 10.12 (72) to 9.7 (61) after the Magpies lost only one game for the season.
 * Magarey Medal awarded to John Marriott (Norwood)
 * October 13 – West Perth wins its eleventh WANFL premiership, beating South Fremantle 13.10 (88) to 12.13 (85)
 * Sandover Medal awarded to Fred Buttsworth (West Perth)

Baseball

 * January 29 – baseball signs a six-year All-Star game deal for TV and radio rights for $6 million
 * September 30 – Joe DiMaggio plays in his final career regular season game.
 * October 3 – In one of the most famous finishes in baseball history, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a three-run walk-off home run, immortalized as the Shot Heard 'Round the World, to give the Giants a 5–4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League title.
 * World Series – The New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the New York Giants.
 * Japan Series – The Yomiuri Giants win 4 games to 2 over the Nankai Hawks.

Basketball
NBA Finals Events
 * NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
 * Kentucky wins 68–58 over Kansas.
 * Rochester Royals over New York Knicks (4–3)
 * The seventh European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1951, is won by the Soviet Union.

Boxing

 * July 10 – Randy Turpin becomes the middleweight boxing champion by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson.
 * July 18 – Jersey Joe Walcott knocks out Ezzard Charles in round 7 during their bout in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Canadian football

 * Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders wins 21–14 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders

Cycling

 * Giro d'Italia is won by Fiorenzo Magni of Italy
 * Tour de France – Hugo Koblet of Switzerland

Figure skating

 * World Figure Skating Championships –
 * Men's champion: Dick Button, United States
 * Ladies' champion: Jeannette Altwegg, Great Britain
 * Pair skating champions: Ria Baran & Paul Falk, Germany

Golf
Men's professional Men's amateur Women's professional
 * Masters Tournament – Ben Hogan
 * U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
 * PGA Championship – Sam Snead
 * British Open – Max Faulkner
 * PGA Tour money leader – Lloyd Mangrum – $26,089
 * Ryder Cup – United States team wins 9$1/2$ to 2$1/2$ over the British team.
 * British Amateur – Dick Chapman
 * U.S. Amateur – Billy Maxwell
 * Women's Western Open – Patty Berg
 * U.S. Women's Open – Betsy Rawls
 * Titleholders Championship – Pat O'Sullivan
 * LPGA Tour money leader – Babe Zaharias – $15,087

Harness racing

 * Tar Heel, a standardbred horse driven by Del Cameron, runs the first two–minute mile in harness racing history.
 * Little Brown Jug for pacers is won by Tar Heel
 * Hambletonian for trotters is won by Mainliner
 * Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
 * Pacers: Vedette
 * Trotters: Gay Belwin

Horse racing
Steeplechases Hurdle races Flat races
 * July 14 – Citation winds his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first equine millionaire.
 * Cheltenham Gold Cup – Silver Fame
 * Grand National – Nickel Coin
 * Champion Hurdle – Hatton's Grace for the third successive year
 * Australia – Melbourne Cup is won by Delat
 * Canada – King's Plate is won by Major Factor
 * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is won by Tantieme
 * Ireland – Irish Derby is won by Fraise du Bois II
 * English Triple Crown Races:
 * 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Ki Ming
 * The Derby – Arctic Prince
 * St. Leger Stakes – Talma
 * United States Triple Crown Races:
 * Kentucky Derby – Count Turf
 * Preakness Stakes – Bold
 * Belmont Stakes – Counterpoint

Ice hockey

 * August 26 – Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs dies in an air crash
 * Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
 * Hart Memorial Trophy – for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
 * Stanley Cup – Toronto Maple Leafs win 4 games to 1 over the Montreal Canadiens
 * World Hockey Championship
 * Men's champion: Canada's Lethbridge Maple Leafs
 * NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Michigan Wolverines defeat Brown University Bruins 7–1 in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lacrosse

 * The 50th anniversaries of the donations of both the Mann Cup and the Minto Cup.
 * The Peterborough Timbermen win the 50th Mann Cup.
 * The Mimico Mountaineers win the 50th Minto Cup.

Rugby league

 * 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship / 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship
 * 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand
 * 1951 New Zealand rugby league season
 * 1951 NSWRFL season
 * 1950–51 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1951–52 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

 * 57th Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

Snooker

 * World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 58–39.

Speed skating
Speed Skating World Championships
 * Men's All-round Champion – Hjalmar Andersen (Norway)

Tennis
Australia England France USA Davis Cup
 * Australian Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt (USA) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–1
 * Australian Women's Singles Championship – Nancye Wynne Bolton (Australia) defeats Thelma Coyne Long (Australia) 6–1, 7–5
 * Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt (USA) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
 * Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Doris Hart (USA) defeats Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) 6–1, 6–0
 * French Men's Singles Championship – Jaroslav Drobný (Egypt) defeats Eric Sturgess (South Africa) 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
 * French Women's Singles Championship – Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
 * American Men's Singles Championship – Frank Sedgman (Australia) defeats Vic Seixas (USA) 6–4, 6–1, 6–1
 * American Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly (USA) defeats Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) 6–3, 1–6, 6–4
 * 1951 Davis Cup – 3–2  at White City Stadium (grass) Sydney, Australia

Multi-sport events

 * First Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * Asian Games are held in New Delhi, India
 * First Mediterranean Games are held in Alexandria, Egypt

Awards

 * Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Dick Kazmaier, College football
 * Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Maureen Connolly, Tennis